Bayo won’t go cheap, warns Northampton Town boss Boothroyd

NOT CHEAP - Adebayo Akinfenwa (left) won't be allowed to leave Cobblers unless someone makes a big bid for him

Jefferson Lake

Cobblers manager Aidy Boothroyd has stated it will take a ‘very good offer’ for another club to purchase leading goalscorer Adebayo Akinfenwa during the January transfer window.

The striker, who has scored 15 goals so far this season, sparked speculation about his future with a cryptic comment during a recent interview.

When asked about the potential of a move away from Sixfields, Akinfenwa said: “Some things happen because they are meant to, not because you want them to.”

Gillingham are monitoring the forward’s position at Northampton but have yet to make a written offer, while Carlisle United are also understood to have the player on a short list of potential January signings.

But Boothroyd is resolute Akinfenwa - for whom Crawley Town had a six-figure bid rejected this time last year - will not be allowed to leave unless the deal is right for the club.

“There has been no formal offer for Bayo or for any of our players so we don’t have a decision to make about any of them,” said the Town boss.

“We’re in a position that unless we get a very, very good offer we won’t be selling any of our players, what we will be doing is looking to add to them.”

Akinfenwa was left out of Tuesday night’s win at Aldershot, which saw the Cobblers go third in the npower League Two table, although Boothroyd intended to use the striker as a substitute to share the workload with lone forward Clive Platt.

“I looked at Bayo on the bench and he had icicles coming off his nose so I felt we’d keep Clive out there against the Aldershot pair,” he said.